Sunday, 7 August 2016

Even
before the noise and lights of the opening spectacle of the summer Olympic
Games in Rio de Janeiro have died down many people are questioning whether the
spiralling costs and ever expanding size of the games have dimmed their once
lustrous reputation. The conclusion that more and more people seem to be
reaching is that the once-fabled Olympic Games are no longer worth the cost and
disruption. It is way past time for the International Olympic Committee to
re-think the direction of the games.

There is a simple, admittedly radical,
solution to the increasing problem of finding a city willing and able to host
the sports spectacular. Stop the ridiculous, very expensive competition among
cities that can hardly afford a decent water system let alone the Olympic
Games. Return the games to their original location and make Athens the
permanent site for future summer Olympic Games. Why not? The venues are already
there from the 2004 games. The Greeks have demonstrated they know how to run a
big event. The money has already been spent. The infrastructure is in place. And
Greece could use the guaranteed injection of significant funds every four years.
Think about it.

Was it worth the cost?

Rio
may have seemed like a brilliant, well deserved choice when awarded the games
back in 2009. But in recent years Brazil has not only been in a downward
economic and political trend, but is beset with the dangerous zika virus. In short, Brazil currently
has many higher priorities than the Olympic Games that are irrelevant to the
vast majority of Brazilians.

Just look at the growth of the
modern games. In the 1964 Tokyo summer games there were 163 events in 19 sports
with 5,151 athletes. This year in Rio there are 306 events in 42 sports with
11,192 athletes competing. And as for the costs … the Saïd Business School at Oxford University analysed 30 summer and winter games and concluded that none
of the games came within initial budget. The study, contested as one might
expect by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), also concluded nearly
half the games exceeded their cost estimates by more than 100%.

The study also noted that
sports-related costs (venues and the athletes’ village) amounted to $6.8 billion
for the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing, $15 billion for the 2012 games in
London, and dropping back to around $5 billion for the 2016 games. The sports-related costs for the 2014
Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia came in at an eye-popping $21.9 billion.
That number ballooned to about $50 billion, when related infrastructure costs
are included.

Skiers and costs hit new highs in Sochi

What
is clear is that by any measure the sky-rocketing costs of the games are
deterring many cities from even placing a bid. Boston, for example, pulled out
of the bidding for the 2024 summer games when it became clear that the
taxpayers of the city would be responsible for the inevitable cost overruns.
Hamburg also pulled out following a referendum showing that the population did
not want the games. The new mayor of Rome said that city, already €13 billion
in debt, simply cannot afford the spectacle. That leaves Los Angeles, Paris and
Budapest as the remaining possibilities.

Four of the six cities that bid for the 2022
Winter Olympic Games later withdrew those bids, leaving the IOC with the choice
of Beijing or Alma Ata, Kazakhstan. Beijing was the ‘lucky’ winner.

Oslo,
Norway was the preferred choice for the 2022 winter games but withdrew because
of lack of public support and annoyance at some of the IOC’s ludicrous demands
such as free liquor for IOC members and a cocktail party with the King of
Norway. This was too much for the sensible, egalitarian Norwegians.
Furthermore, with historically low unemployment and excellent existing
infrastructure Oslo didn’t need the games to improve things.

The time has come to rein
in the games and stop them from becoming the athletic equivalent of the
over-the-top Eurovision contest. The athletes have trained very hard for
several years. Their sacrifices and nobility of effort should not be
overshadowed by the circus atmosphere of organizers' problems with financing,
construction, idiotic demands by for special privileges by IOC members, doping
scandals, or variable international politics. And the people of the host city
should not be left with very expensive white
elephants that only deteriorate over time.

Time to return the Games to their roots

I say
again, bring the games home – permanently. There are plenty of international
athletic competitions – World Cup of football, World Cup of rugby, tennis
tournaments, world championships in almost all sports – that can be moved
around to satisfy the egos of various host countries. But there is only one summer
Olympic Games. And those games and the athletes should have the dignity of a
permanent home -- where it all started and where all the preparations are in
place.

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About Me

I worked as a fund manager and investment banker in Turkey and the Middle East for 25 years. Over the years I have travelled extensively throughout the region and have met many of the leading government officials, business and cultural leaders. I am married to a Greek and now divide my time between London, Turkey, and an island in the Aegean.